Kaido
Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
- Feb 14, 2004
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Also thanks to the people who mentioned feathering the clutch with no gas and trying to idle without stalling. That sounds very helpful, my friend who's instructing me gave me no such pointer.
Also, you have to know where the engagement point is. When I first started learning manual my main problem in first gear was that I had no clue where the engagement point was, so I was slowly letting out the clutch and giving gas like you are supposed to, but I was doing it throughout the entire travel of the clutch, so that when the actual engagement point came I was likely already giving too much gas and not letting the clutch out slowly enough.
You should be able to visualize in your mind how far up the travel the engagement point actually is.
OHHH this is me, I was getting the RPM's way too high before the clutch was out and was having to ease up on the gas. Everyone I've talked to has said they had similar troubles at first. And lucky for me I haven't came across a single person who said even after a lot of practice they were unable to drive stick. So there is hope yet.
Another 'trick' that you'll need to learn once you drive stick is learning how to ignore everyone if you ever stall out. This is pretty crucial in the beginning because if you're like everyone else out there, the first time you stall on public roads with cars behind you, you will panic. And when you panic, you'll rush, and when you rush, you stall. Over and over.
Getting going is so easy.
Select first gear, 4k revs, dump the clutch, floor the accelerator
Unless you're in an underpowered car on a steep incline, usually you should take off without too much trouble (except spinning tires :awe![]()
I purchased a POS saturn with a manual transmission w/o knowing how to drive it. It was a FUN few weeks afterward.
See I have barely any feeling in my feet (from a prior accident that caused leg/nerve damage). So I basically know I am feathering or whatnot based on resistance in my muscles vs any pressure on my feet. I did start to learn cheating techniques (rev matching/clutchless shifting), but I did pretty well. I only ground the gears a few times, and never while learning... always when I was trying to do something too quickly and I didn't think the process through.
Starting on an incline was ultra fun though, I recall releasing the clutch slightly and then more and soon my car was rolling backwards with my foot off the clutch... yeah that smelled good.
Had about 3 hours practice (total) before I got mine and had to drive it 30 - 40 miles home. Nothing like purchasing a car and knowing you will have to nerve wrackingly drive it home and home your inexperience with stick doesnt cause something bad.![]()

Getting going is so easy.
Select first gear, 4k revs, dump the clutch, floor the accelerator
Unless you're in an underpowered car on a steep incline, usually you should take off without too much trouble (except spinning tires :awe![]()
I understand what you mean, the accelerator just needs an ankle movement, but brake and clutch in a manual need you raising the leg to use them, and a pic shows why:if you dont drive manual the way you want to push the clutch with your left leg is not all ankle like gas/brake is. thats around when i had that "a ha" moment. i had to move my seat forward compared to my normal car because you need more control with your leg on the left side. if you are only used to using your ankles like brake / gas on an automatic it doesnt give the kind of control you would have using other parts of your leg to hold the clutch at the engagement point. or well that was my experience.
Bought my car without knowing how to drive a stick. Took me 2 hours to drive from the dealership to my house which was 7 miles away
Takes about six months to get the complete hang of it and about a year to get completely second nature about it
It was definitely nowhere near that long for me, but I guess each person is different.
I drove manual for the first time in a 1987 Saab 900, I bet my friend I could drive the car having never driven one, without stalling it. I did, and I drove it maybe 15 miles that day with next to no trouble at all.
Probably has something to do as well with understanding how it works, where as people who aren't mechanically inclined I find have a hard time learning to drive it.
